Method of processing hydrocarbons to produce motor fuel



I Patented Dec.23, 1941 2,266,848

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PROCESSING HYDROCARBONS TO PRODUCE MOTOR FUEL Marvin L. Chappell, Berkeley, Calif., assignor of gmlai-fhalf to James W. Weir, Los Angeles, a

No Drawing. Application March 4, 1938,

Serial No. 193,959 Claims. (Cl. 260-676) This invention relates to an improved method In processing hydrocarbons such as isoheptane of P sing hydrocarbons such as methane, the following represents the reaction which takes a e. p op u D hexane, place to produce isononane which may be reguother saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, to prolated sothat the resultant motor fuel may have duce m r f el with hi h an i-d tona ine har- 5 an octane number greater than 100 in case the aeteristics, a d O W ch m y be ed isoheptane reacted upon by the acetylene gas blended with the various grades of gasoline stock contain 2 or more branched chains. zgeigzgrove the ant1-detonat1ng characteristics CFIHXE+C2H2=C9H18 isononylene Briefly stated, my invention comprises con- C9H18+H2=C9H2 isononane vertirig saturated hydrocarbons into olefines by Isoheptane having two branched chains may be reacting on saturated hydrocarbons with acety produced by reacting on propane with acetylene lene gas, polymerizing the olefines formed and and hydrogenating the resultant product as folhydrogenating the polymerized product to prolows: v duce motor fuel consisting principally of hydrol5 carbons with branched chain molecular struc- C3H8+C2Hi c5H1? lsopentylene a CsH1n+H2-CsH1z lsopentane tures, and/or reacting .on branched chain hy- C5H12+CzH2-C7H14 isoheptylene drocarbons, such as isobutane, isopentane, 1so- C7H14+H2 C7H16 isoheptane hexane, isoheptane, or other isomeric saturated hydrocarbons, with acetylene to produce olefinic An oblect Of t e lnveh'tlon 15 to Produce motor h dr b t an increased number of fuel from saturated straight chain hydrocarbons,

branched chains, and th h d ti the suitable for use in. high compression internal olefinic hydrocarbons to produce saturated hycombustion e s hout the use Of ant drocarbons with nincreased number of knock compounds, such as tetraethyl lead. branched chains it bl as fuel for high Conn Another object of the invention is to produce pression internal combu ti in 'a motor fuel which may be blended with gaso- Processes of producing branched chain hydroline Stock derived from Crude Petroleum O by carbon motor f l such as isowctane by t distillation or cracking operations, either with catalytic polymerization of butylene and r or without the use of tetraethvl lead, to produce genation of th polymerized product is known in m a motor fuel which will coniorm to all aircraft the art, however commercial processes employfuel spec ficatio s -S' equ y the tradeing mixtures of olefinic gases derived from crack- Another object of e invention is t pr du ing butane or other petroleum oils, to product: a hydrocar on mot fu l hav an ta nu i t by known polymerization and ber of at least 100 by the synthetic production drogenating th usually produces motor of hydrocarbons having more than two branched fuel ranging from 90 to 95 octane number, while Chains in the ecular construction. by my improved 'method a motor fuel may be Another object of the invention is to add hyproduced of any desired number ranging fr m drocarbon radicals to straight chain hydrocar- 90 to 100 or somewhat higher by increasing the bfins iF0 form y c o s With branched chains. number or branch chains of the hydrocarbon 4o Various other jec s a d advanta es of the molecules constituting the fuel. Present i venti Will be pp O the The following representsvgrihically the redescription Of the preferred method Q1 exam.. actions which take place in pr essing methane ples of the P o ss mbo y g the p e t and ethane with acetylene for the production ventionof iso-octane. Example 1 For methane-- One volume of ethane derived from any avail- Ch4+c2H2=C3H6 propylene able source is mixed with two volumes of a 2 C3HG p01ymerized=C H isohexylene mixture 0f acetylene and nitrogen gas. This c =c6H14 isohexane r mixture maintained at atmospheric or 1ess than c +c iso-octylene atmospheric pressure is heated to 350-400 F. by C H +H =CaH1a iso-octane any suitable heating means, such as a pipe coil For ethaneheater, and passed therefrom in a continuous CzHs+ChHz=C4H8 butylene I stream flow through a contact mass coated with 2 C4Ha polymerized=CsH1e iso-octylene a catalytic agent such as titanium oxide, va-

CaH1s+Hz=CsH1a iso-octane nadium oxide (V2Oa) or silica. The contact mass may be any out the known substances which present large surface exposures. for the space employed, such as asbestos, diatomaceous earth,

' special constructed porcelain balls or cones, fused magnesium sulphate, slag sand, silica quartz or brick work, and the ilke.

and other gases are conducted to a polymerizing unit of any well known type such as those employing a phosphoric acid catalyst and are therein polymerized to form iso-octylene which is thereafter hydrogenated by known processes to produceiso-octane motor fuel with an octane ranging from 90.t0 100.

Example 2 Isohexane, derived from any source, such as by the known method of polymerizing propylene to form dimers and thereafter hydrogenating the polymerized product to form the isohexane, is

processed with acetylene in accordance with the method described in Example 1, using the same proportional mixture at the same temperature,-

and thereafter hydrogenated by known methods to form iso-octane with two side chains. The motor fuel thus produced will have an octane 'numher of 90 to 100.

By this invention and by the method described in Example 1 methane may be processed with acetylene to produce propylene, the propylene polymerized and then hydrogenated to form isohexane, which may be again treated with acetylenein accordance with Example 2 to produce iso-octane with two side chain radicals or groups and an octane value of 98 to 100.

While the process herein described is well adapted for carrying out the objects of the present invention various forms and modifications may be made, such for example as the use of various forms of reaction chambers employing various forms of heat exchangers to extract the exothermic heat of the acetylization reaction, and the invention includes all such modifications and changes as appear in the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a process of producing a branched chain high anti-knock paraffinic motor fuel hydrocarbon, the step which comprises reacting acetylene with an isohexane.

2. Process of producing iso-paraffinic hydrocarbons boiling in the usual range of motor fuels, which comprises reacting a parafiinic hydrocarbon containing at least three carbon atoms per molecule with acetylene in the presence of a metal oxide catalyst at a temperature of about 350 to 400 F. and hydrogenating the resulting product.

3. Process of producing branched chain high antiknock paraffinic motor fuel hydrocarbons, which comprises reacting a paraflinic hydrocarbon containing more than two, but less than eight carbon atoms per molecule with acetylene, in the presence of a metal oxide catalyst, at a temperature of about 350 to 400 F., and hydrogenating the resulting product.

4. Process of increasing the number of branched chains in iso-paraflinic hydrocarbons,

and thereby increasing their antiknock value,

which comprises reacting iso-paraifins containing less than eight carbon atoms per molecule, with acetylene, in the presence of a metal oxide ca'tproduct.

MARVIN L. CHAPPELL. 

